Classified
by Vampkin
Summary: This file has been deemed classified Top Secret by the Government and mayonly be read by top ranking officials...Ready to take a peak?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I haven't watched the movie in a while.

AN: This is something I've been working on for a while and I'm loading up all the chapters I have written so far even though it isn't finished and classes are starting soon. Bad timing on my part but we'll see how this things works out. I apologize in advance for the OOCness that ensues here. Mainly with K. He gets kind of pervy in one of the later chapters for a sentence or two but other than that he's a gentleman…I think. I reread this thing but I'm kind of tired so I might have missed something in here. And I wrote this while tired so that should explain…pretty much the entire thing. Alright, here we go…

She jumped from the bridge onto the open topped bus and landed roughly on her knees. The people were spooked but she cracked a quick joke and ran down the stairs. She heard the click of cameras behind her and rolled her eyes; tourists. She leapt out of the open door and landed clumsily on the sidewalk. She swiveled on her heel and ran in the opposite direction.

A convenient newspaper truck passed and she hitched a ride. She looked around then zeroed in on a running man in dark clothes that billowed slightly out around him; there was her perp and he was inhumanly fast. She tackled into him and was surprised at how solid he felt. She slammed him into the wall and was thrown slightly back when he swung his arm.

He pulled a weapon from his jacket and she quickly knocked it away, flinching from the flash it gave off when it landed. When she looked again, the thing was gone; whatever it had been to begin with.

"He's coming." The man sounded winded and frightened beyond belief, "He's coming and there's nothing you can do to stop him."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," she challenged as she reached for her cuffs. He lunged at her and shook her silently for a split second before throwing her to the ground and running across the street to the parking complex without a worry of the cars that almost hit him. She cursed lightly under her breath then pulled herself to her feet and ran after him, gun in hand.

A car honked at her and she absently waved it away, approaching the building cautiously. She looked down the incline then watched in amazement as the man she was chasing leapt high into the air and made the roof of the three story complex from one of the levels underground. Her jaw dropped slightly open but she knew what she had to do.

She came to one of the doors and shot the glass out willingly enough. This chase was becoming almost more trouble than it was worth and she wasn't even exactly sure why she was even chasing the man. It was obvious the others had given up from the feeble 'you got this one' she had heard when they had fallen behind; pudgy so-n-so's.

She ran up the flights of stairs until she came to a door that led outside. It opened before she could reach it and she leveled her gun. She saw him and his surprised face a few seconds later.

"Freeze, Scumbag, you're under arrest." The man backed away slowly and she followed just as quickly.

"You don't understand. I've failed him and now he'll kill me too. We're all going to die."

"Now you know that's not true," she tried to assure him calmly, "Just come down to the station and we can talk this over. No need to do anything hasty." The man was coming too close to the edge for her to be comfortable with the situation. The man blinked sideways. She couldn't afford to be distracted with whatever that had been so she logged it away later to deal with.  
>"What are you?" She asked in disbelief.<p>

"It doesn't matter anymore," he supplied then leapt from the edge like an eagle spreading its wings to fly.

"No wait," she yelled but was too late to grab him. Even still, her hand reached out toward him just so later, when she was having nightmares about this, she could assure herself that she had done everything she could have.

"Sonuva…" she bit her tongue as the curse pried almost to freedom from her unsuspecting lips. She grabbed her walkie and called it in. "We've got a jumper at the…" It was just protocol but she hated it. This was only the second time she had called one of these in and she resented both of them for having made her to call it in ever.


	2. Chapter 2

"So you hold to this _report_," the chief asked, gesturing at the offending folder.

"Yes, Sir," she responded in kind, "I've got no reason to lie." The fat tub of lard that had fallen behind all too willingly was in the room with her, making snide comments.

"I bet she pushed him off," he chuckled to the chief. To her great satisfaction, the chief was just as pissed at him as he was at her.

"And why weren't you with her?" He demanded of her partner.

"I fell behind…" The man started to fumble for an excuse.

"He's doughy, Sir," she answered gratefully, "I think he needs some serious time on a stair master…"

"What is your problem?" Her partner snapped, "If you were half the cop I am…"

"God, you've got to be joking. I _am_ half the cop you are," she quipped. The man blustered for a short but satisfying moment before the chief intervened.

"That's enough from both of you. Simmons, don't you have some paper work to do or something?" Her partner stood, mumbling something that sounded like 'you're gonna get it' but she ignored him. The chief sighed. He had just opened his mouth again when a man in a black suit entered the room. He flashed an official looking badge and spoke in a 'no nonsense' tone.

"I need to speak to Officer Davidson alone, if you don't mind." Her boss gave her a wary look before he exited the room, leaving her to the fed. He walked in and immediately unplugged the camera.

"Rough night?" he asked her.

"You could say that." It bugged her that the man just kept standing, like their chairs weren't good enough or something. Her arms unconsciously folded across her chest as she assessed the man: starched suit, perfectly folded tie, shoes that shone like stars and hair that was just beginning to grey at the temples around a severe face that was perfectly shaved.

"They were gills, not eyelids." He said it as if she had asked a question. A look of confusion sprung to her face. "He was out of breath," he further explained, "he was breathing." A dawning concern hit her in the face. This man was a loony with a badge and it was just her luck that he was one of the most normal looking one here.

"Right," she answered, "they were gills." He sighed as if he had been expecting this.

"Look, come with me and I can explain everything." He approached the door and opened it, indicating her to go first. She stood and smiled cynically.

"Love to, really would, but I've got a report to file and…"

"Already done," he informed her. The chief walked past with a smile on his face.

"Nicely done, Davidson." Her one hope of escape vanished as those words hit the air.

"Fine, whatever; where are we going?"

"You'll see," he offered, walked side by side down the hallway with her.


	3. Chapter 3

"And that's what happened," he finished explaining. She had a disbelieving smirk smeared across her face like an unattractive scar but he found it suited her.

"So he was a cephalopod assassin and just happened to mess up a few weeks before his boss arrived?" She summarized in a question.

"It's pronounced cephalopoid," he explained, "but that's basically it." She nodded in understanding.

"When's the last time you had a CAT scan?" She asked innocently.

"Three months ago; it's company policy." She nodded, leaned forward onto her forearms, her eyes bore into his.

"You might want to make another appointment," she suggested. She went to stand.

"Hold on now," he cautioned, "You haven't heard me out."

"I thought that's what I was doing." She settled back into the booth and stared at him blankly.

"No. I was explaining what you saw earlier tonight; now you get to hear what I have to say."

"Okay," she offered him, refolding her arms across her chest.

"First of all, stop crossing your arms like that; it makes you look unfriendly and it draws attention where it shouldn't." She made a conscious effort to drop her hands into her lap; it made her feel too open to the world and she didn't like it one bit. "Secondly, I want you at this building tomorrow at eight." He handed her a business card and she examined it.

Her whole attention was on it for three second at most but when she looked up the man was gone, the money for the bill sitting in the middle of the table as if it had always been there. She sat there for a moment longer, wondering just what had gone so wrong tonight that she had ended up having dinner with a man that could have been her dad. She shook her head as if to clear it then entered the night air, pulling her jacket just a little tighter to her frame.


	4. Chapter 4

At 7:58 a.m. she arrived at the building and entered the door. The room was huge and seemingly worthless, a small desk with a large man behind it, newspaper in hand. He gazed up at her.

"The man," she was appalled to realize she had never gotten his name, "gave me a card with the building number…"

"Through those doors," he indicated with a paper filled hand. She thanked him and opened one of the two doors. It was an elevator and that intrigued her. _What would happen if you opened the door and the elevator wasn't there?_ She didn't want to think about it. Instead she stepped inside and had just enough time to realize there were no buttons before it was moving. The door opened again and there was the man from the night before.

"Hey," she greeted.

"I said eight," he responded. She looked at her watch: 7:59:54. She waited the six seconds then showed him the watch.

"There; it's eight now." He smirked then led her to a room that had a few other people, all in some sort of military uniform. An even more severe looking man was standing in the middle, a permanent frown apparently etched into his cheeks. He was in the same sort of suit, had the same sort of tie, and his shoes were sparkling with the exact same stars; it was slightly eerie.

"Good to know you could be bothered to join us," he said with an almost serious voice. She realized with silent amazement that he was teasing her.

"I was told eight, Sir; if you've got a problem with when I chose to show up, blame your man." She was unaware that he watched this through one-sided glass, a silent grin on his face. The man in the room smiled as well. There was one chair left open and she settled in it, aware of the stares she was getting; she was the only female in the room.

"As I was saying before you arrived, we have gathered the best of the best of the best in the hopes that one of you up and coming youngsters will amount to our standards." She raised her hand. "Yes?" He sounded bemused.

"So why are we really here?" The hand of the man next to her shot up and she glanced at him quickly as if surprised that he had actually moved. The gentleman in charge nodded to him. The man stood proudly, stated his name, rank, graduate status and so on and so forth; not that she cared much. She wasn't much impressed with men who talked too much about themselves. He finally got to the point.

"We're here because we're the best of the best of the best, Sir." He sat with a triumphant look on his face and she just stared at him with disbelief even as he turned to her.

"And that told me absolutely nothing; if you don't know the answer, why don't you just let him answer it?" The man looked slightly discouraged but she doubted it would last for long. She had faith in his ability to bounce back quickly; it was a military thing.

"You will be running through a few choice tests to assess your abilities and then we'll let you know later in the week. First thing, please fill out the test on your chair and when you're all finished we'll move on." She grabbed the test and looked at the thing that was at least six pages and with small print. Then she noticed there was no hard surface to write on. Even now, the other ones were moving around, trying to find a place to write.

Her eyes zeroed in on a table just low enough she could sit on the floor and use it. They had never said they had to stay in their seats anyways. She stood and walked across the room to the table, walked around it so she was facing the others who were watching her with slight interest, and plopped herself on the ground cross legged. She stared at them for a moment longer then broke the silence.

"You guys want to use the table too?" She offered innocently. They just stared at her for a moment before she lost interest in what they did and began filling out her test. A few minutes later, they were all squished together around the table, hiding answers secretively. She honestly couldn't have cared if they cheated off her paper; chances were good she would fail anyway.

A good half hour later, they were let loose on a firing range. They had a timer to shoot who they thought deserved to be shot, six rounds only and seven people out there. The timer signaled its start and they picked up their weapons and advanced on the range. She scanned the targets quickly, took aim, and fired a single shot: one to the head for the quick kill.

The timer buzzed again and the shooting stopped.

"What happened, Davidson?" Asked the man in charge.

"Hesitated…sir," she added as an afterthought. He stood at her side and surveyed her carnage.

"Can I ask why you felt little Tiffany had to die?" He pointed to the cardboard cutout of a little girl no more than nine with blonde piggy tails and a flowery dress.

"Well, at first I was going to shoot that thing over there," she pointed to something tentacled and green hanging from a light pole, "but I figured it was just having fun like I used to do on the horizontal bars in grade school. Then I wanted to pop this guy over here when I noticed the little girl. It's, what, midnight in this setting?" She was observing the blackened and starry back drop.

A quick nod. "This looks like a ghetto part of town and she's maybe nine if you're pushing it. Those books in her arms, they are way too advanced for her," Quantum Physics one read and another read Relativity of Gravity, "She's about to start some serious trouble and I wasn't going to let that happen. Now, if you don't mind backing off a little…" The man in charge gave her a look that spelled trouble. "…or do I owe her an apology?" The man shook his head and beckoned them out.

"This last test is a simple eye exam; if you'll all follow me," he stated clearly. They followed him single file out of the room and into the hallway. There was the man that had introduced her to this place, leaning against the door frame.

"Hey," he greeted. She waved and turned to follow the others. "Where you going?" He asked. She turned to answer but he beckoned her to follow. "Boss thinks you did a great job…even if you can't read it on his face." She nodded as they passed the room the others were in.

"…now if you'll all kindly direct your attention to this red dot…" they passed before she could catch anymore. She looked back toward it as they continued on but ignored it when he began talking again.

"You still don't believe do you?" It wasn't really a question. He knew she didn't believe; yet. She shook her head instead of answering. "Let me prove it to you; coffee?" It seemed like the oddest tangent in the world to spring to and she shook her head again; she didn't need nor even like coffee.

He shrugged then walked into a room with an open door.

"Hey," she heard a slightly Hispanic sounding voice greet, "how's it hangin', K?"

"Just fine," K replied. So that was his name; she pondered it for just a moment then came closer to the opening to enter the room. She stopped short, holding back a gasp of surprise. She could not, however, keep her mouth from hanging slightly open. There, pouring coffee into K's paper cup was a bug like creature no taller than her knees with stringy antennae poking out of its head. It was a fleshy tan color.

K walked out, stirring in sugar with a small red straw. "Sure you don't want any?" He offered.

"Nah," she said in a small daze, "I'm good." They were walking down the hallway again. She glanced back at the door over her shoulder for a second before focusing back in on the strange man beside her. She didn't know what to say.

"Do you think you'd recognize that gun again if you saw it?" He asked suddenly.  
>"Yeah," she answered slowly, "I think so." He nodded as if he had expected her to say that, which he probably had. <p>


	5. Chapter 5

They approached the cheap jewelry shop under the cover of yet another night; it seemed to be his natural time of day. She glanced at the building and instantly recognized it: Jeeves owned this place. Jeeves was a crook who sold fake Rolexes to tourists at expensive prices as if they were the genuine article. They stopped just before the door.

"What are we doing here?" she asked him.

"I'll show you." He opened the door and, like a gentleman, beckoned her to go first. She walked in and smirked as Jeeves' eyes hit her. He began to sweat lightly but plastered a smile over it. Then his eyes met the person behind her and the smile disappeared. Fear filled his eyes and he greeted them.

"Heya K, Officer Davidson, when did you two start working together."

"Cut the crap, Jeeves, show us the guns." What guns? She quickly looked around the small shop and wondered where the hell he would hide any sort of guns. Besides, this guy was human…wasn't he?

"I don't do that business anymore," Jeeves assured him, "I'm straight now."

"Yeah," Davidson said, leaning on the counter, "so straight you sell fake Rolexes." He looked at her imploringly.

"Listen, this guy's nuts," the pathetic man tried.

"No doubt," she agreed, "so I'd do what he says before he gets testy." The man swallowed in fear then fished under the counter and pressed a button. Each of the presentation counters lifted a few inches then swirled to reveal racks of foreign, no alien, things that were apparently meant to be guns. She scanned the displays before she zeroed in on the one she wanted. "That one."

K glanced at it for a moment before rounding on Jeeves. "You sold a deatomizer with mutate capacity to an unregistered cephalopoid; Jeeves, you piece of shit."

"He looked all right to me," Jeeves defended lamely.

"So, wait, what does this mean?"

"It means we have to get you erased as soon as possible." He said then walked out the door. She looked at the shop owner uncertainly for a second more, then ran after the man who had gotten her into all of this.

"Wait; what do you mean erased? Like dead?"

"No, from the system." He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"So, what agency will I report to?"

"None of them; they ask too many questions." She felt like her world was spinning steadily out of her control. She grabbed K's shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"What if I don't want to?" She asked, not sure whether she really did or not.

"Then we erase your memory and you forget any of this ever happened. You will go back to your cubicle with your pudgy partner and your boring life." He sounded disapproving. She felt a twinge of regret for even suggesting it.

"And if I do join?"

"You fade into the background. You will have no home, no car, no pet, no relationships with anyone." She swallowed at the severity of his voice; it was almost bitter.

"Okay," she said with a nod. He nodded, the smile she was now not even sure was remotely real back on his face.

"Then let's go." She followed after him like stray puppy, not even sure what the hell she was even doing.

After the random initiation consisting of the destruction of any and all records that were on her, they had loved her first name, assigned her the letter S, which was conveniently the first letter of her name, and the removal of her fingerprints, which had hurt like hell, she had been given a black suit. She had politely turned down the skirt option and gone with a formal male suit that fit her. It had taken a bit of customization on her part, but she was handy with a needle and thread…and a sewing machine, and in the end, she preferred pants over a skirt any day.

Her first day of work had consisted of being trained by K and he had bored her to death with interesting facts about _all_ of the alien types they knew of before he had given her a small, alien pistol that she could put in her holster.

"Now be careful with that," he warned her, "and whatever you do, do not make the mistake of treating it like a regular pistol when you fire it or it will tear your arms off and feed them to you." She had nodded, wary of her new weapon, and the informational/training tour had continued.


	6. Chapter 6

"So where are we going again?" She asked, staring down the empty country road from her side of the car.

"We got a call that an alien party is getting out of hand," he answered in exasperation, "We just have to roll up and get them to quiet it down a little before someone calls the police on them and exposes their whole outfit."

"And what do these guys look like?"

"Imagine, if you will, something akin to a squid/dog hybrid with a low tolerance for intoxicating drinks and they've been drinking since three." She looked at the clock which told her in shiny green neon that it was just after one in the morning.

"Three p.m.?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No such luck."

"Why aren't they dead yet if they've consumed that much?"

"It takes a lot to kill these things; they just get drunk easily."

"So we're talking beyond plowed?" She asked. He nodded again. "So how are we supposed to calm things down?"

"Well, as quickly as they get drunk, they can sober up just as fast with the right kind of help."

"And that would be?"

"Beer."

"I thought you said they were drinking beer."

"No, they've been drinking orange juice," he corrected. She made a face.

"They get drunk off of orange juice?"

"And sober by drinking beer. Are you honestly all that surprised?" She thought about it a moment longer…then nodded.

"Yes. Just because I've learned half the aliens on that freaking long list doesn't mean the other half won't surprise me. And don't even get me started on all your damn treaties." He smiled and it almost seemed genuine but then the alien house came into view and any semblance of amusement quickly fled with the view of chaos.

"Oh. My. God," S stated sincerely. The house was completely trashed, flood lights littered the lawn. K had been right, they were a mixture of both squid and dog, and not the good parts of the animals either. Also, they were freaking huge, maybe as big as the car they were in.

"Come on," he ordered her, "We have work to do." He parked the car on the street, turned it off, and got swiftly out. She stumbled out of the car and made to follow him.

"You brought beer, right?" She asked.

"In the trunk; go get it." He tossed her the keys. She caught them clumsily then fumbled with the trunk lock and finally got it open. Just as she was reaching for the first case of beer she felt something wrap around her leg then she was suddenly in the air.

She let out a shriek of surprise as she looked down at the ground while it got further and further away.

"Agent," the squid thing said, then giggled, "how nice to see you." The words were slurred; this thing was definitely drunk.

"Please put me down," she implored the thing. It giggled again then shook her from side to side for a few seconds then let her dangle again. "K!" she yelled, hoping he would hear her.

"Th' other agent's being fun," the thing gurgled happily. It turned to show her and she saw him dodging monster after monster, talking all the while. The monster slipped into its native language which seemed to be a lot of guttural barks and whines then giggled again.

"Look, if you put me down," she paused for a second, straining her mind to think of something, "you won't get punished by the agency."

"Why would we get punished? You're the ones who came here uninvited."

"Because we came to help you," she answered, "you guys are being way too rowdy and the police might be called at…" Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly found herself flying up into the air head over heels. She screamed as she began to fall but the thing caught her again.

"We don't need your help," the thing assured her. It was then she realized the thing was moving toward the rest. Her stomach was beginning to feel uneasy from being upturned for so long and the fly through the air she had just been through. The thing barked again. The giggling continued, but the efforts to capture her partner were redoubled and soon he was dangling by his ankles as well. He was handed over to her captor who hung them right next to each other.

"Hello," he greeted. He sounded winded and he was breathing heavily, "Lovely view up here."

"Just wait until they decide to toss you up like a ball, then you'll be thinking what a lovely view it is," she snapped.

"You're grumpy."

"No, I just don't like heights."

"I never would have guessed. When you chased the cepholopoid…" The squid things hissed suddenly at the mention of the creature. He looked down at them. The one holding them barked up at them with sudden anger and shook them for extra emphasis.

"What's it saying?" she asked.

"Shh," he urged her, and continued listening. When it was done talking, he replied in English. "Because we didn't think it was relevant. It was one cepholopoid and it's dead now. There's no reason to…" The thing barked some more then put them down. All of the things moved hurriedly inside with surprising speed and shut the door. All of the lights turned off one by one in succession and the two of them were left in total darkness.

"If I had known that mentioning the reason I met you would have gotten me down, I would have said something a lot sooner," she said into the night.

"Me too," he replied.

"So this was a success?" She asked, looking at the door in worry.

"Yep. And all of that beer is still left…want to get snot faced drunk?"

"Don't we have work tomorrow…today?"

"Nope, it's Saturday." She paused to review her days; it had already been two weeks.

"Okay, let's go get snot faced drunk." They walked back to the car and drove to the office.


	7. Chapter 7

The dorms were really houses in a larger house; Twenty-six of them; although, only nineteen were filled. The two of them got back to the dorms and K pulled into his parking spot. Lightly, he tapped S on the shoulder and roused her from her doze. She yawned, then stretched her well toned frame. He found himself watching her while she was distracted with waking up, then pulled his gaze away. She was his partner. She was depending on him to keep her safe.

She was calling him back to reality in a groggy voice.

"What was that?" His attention went back to the present, to her face.

"I asked what time it was," she repeated.

"Just after three," he replied.

"So, are you still up for getting drunk or would you rather hit the hay?" He couldn't decide if he wanted to risk it. Getting drunk lowered one's inhibitions and he didn't know if he could handle that kind of temptation. Just the idea gave him visions. Visions that involved them being alone in his house, in his bedroom, preferably naked… _stop it_.

"Wouldn't you rather go to bed?" He asked.

"Nah, I feel right as rain after that little cat nap," she supplied, "and the day's a'wasting." He found himself smiling, which he seemed to be doing more and more of lately.

"Help me get the beer inside then, before the freeloaders notice." She smiled then climbed out of the car and waited for him to pop the trunk. He took a deep, steadying breath, then hit the trunk release and got out to help.

As they had been expecting to give the beer to giant squid/dog hybrid things, they had gotten a lot of it. It now sat in K's front room with the two of them lounging on his couches, each of them holding a beer and talking about seemingly nothing.

S had found that two beers within the first hour and a beer every two hours, mixed with food and hydration, was just enough to keep her borderline drunk. K, however, had chugged down four like a mad man and his bladder was making him suffer for it.

"I told you," she said, pointing at him with the hand with the beer in it.

"Yeah, I know," he replied after returning from yet another trip to the bathroom.

"I said maybe you should get some food in you first."

"I know," he sighed. She giggled uncharacteristically.

"I think I might be drunk," she said.

"Me too," he replied. It was by pure force of will that he had managed to walk straight, and aim straight, on his trips to the john. They fell into silence as some drunk people do.

"You think they know something we don't?" S asked suddenly.

"Who?" K asked when he had snapped out of his reverie.

"The Sz…the sck…the squid things."

"The Skzorick?"

"Yeah, them things. You think they knew something important that we just haven't caught yet?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, because they panicked when you mentioned the…the thing I chased." She looked over at him and saw him watching her.

"Cepholopoids are notoriously bad space scum."

"Is there good space scum?" She asked, a broad smile plastered on her face. He smiled.

"No, probably not. The Skzorick are very superstitious and they see Cepholopoids as bad omens."

"Mmhmm," she replied dazedly, she was watching his mouth. He swallowed nervously. "How do you do that?" She asked.

"Do what?"

"Wrap your mouth around those funny names when you can't even walk in a straight line."

"Years of practice."

"So, what, you always get drunk with random agent buddies and practice your alien species pronunciation?" He laughed loudly and shook his head.

"No." He suddenly got a little down. "I haven't been drunk in years. Or had a partner."

"I thought every agent had to have a partner." Her brows drew together in confusion.

"Believe it or not, no one wants to be my partner. I train them, then they switch out to partner up with someone else. I guess…I guess I'm just getting too old." S scooted closer to him and put a hand on his.

"Well, I like being your partner. I promise I won't trade unless you want me to."

"Really?"

"Yep," she agreed with her smile attached. He smiled back. He watched her head growing slowly heavier. It landed on her hand, which was on his and had tightened slightly as if to resist escape attempts. He smiled down at her, and smoothed away a lock of stray hair. Her breathing evened out and she was asleep…right in time for him to have to go to the bathroom again.


	8. Chapter 8

S woke to the smell of food and cracked her eyes open. She was in a dark room, not the front room, with a blanket pulled up to her chin. She sat up and instantly grabbed her head; hangover city. She glanced down at her frame and noted that she was no longer in her suit, but in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a too big T-shirt. She looked around the room and realized she was in a bedroom, probably K's.

She slid out of bed and walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," he greeted her. She groaned then plopped herself at the table.

"How did I get into these clothes," she asked absently.

"You don't remember?"

"No," she responded in favor of shaking her head; it would have hurt too much.

"You changed right before I put you in my bed."

"So I spent the night…morning?"

"Yep."

"What day is it?"

"Still Saturday."

"Why are you so happy?" she nearly demanded. It came out softer than she had meant to.

"I threw up shortly after you went to bed and detoxified myself."

"On purpose?"

"No; I got really queasy. The coffee helped too," he put in, then set a cup in front of her. She frowned darkly at it.

"I'm not a coffee person."

"Neither was I once. Just try it." She gingerly took a small sip, then grimaced at the taste.

"Yuck," she informed him.

"Would you like some sugar in it?"

"Yes please." She took the offered sugar and drowned the drink in some. She took another swallow and was satisfied; it still wasn't good, but it was a hell of a lot better. S looked up at her partner. With his back to her, his concentration on whatever it was that he was cooking, she was remembering their morning. She was specifically remembering staring at his lips and uttering nonsense words just to watch them move. She also remembered wanting so badly to kiss them that she had leaned forward, only to chicken out at the last second.

She realized vaguely that she was staring at his back again. It bothered her that that was almost all she ever saw of him. She followed behind him instead of walking beside him. The second she had been 'erased' he has stopped trying to talk to her. No, she remember, it had started before that. It had started after their talk with Jeeves.

He turned to her then, food on a plate, and she ate it willingly enough. She also took the offered pain pills. Silence descended over them and it was slightly comfortable. However, S decided she had some work to do. She wanted to talk to Jeeves again, alone.

After finishing the food, she changed back into her suit.

"Leaving already?"

"Yeah, I just realized there was something I wanted to do today?"

"Want me to come along?"

"Nah. It's fine." She missed the small look of disappointment that crossed his eyes. "Thanks for the fun, see you Monday." With that, she walked out of the door, decidedly thinking of anything but how good she had found her partner's clothes to smell.


	9. Chapter 9

After a quick shower and a small wardrobe change into some casual garb, she had missed her jeans, S drove down to Jeeves' shop and walked in the door. He was talking to some customers when she walked in. He looked at her worriedly and began talking a little faster.

"Jeeves," she greeted happily, "long time no see."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed.

"You're not selling fakes again, are you?" she asked, approaching the nice couple who had probably wandered in here by mistake.

"N-no, Ma'am," he answered. Before he could stop her, she had grabbed one of the watches.

"See, the way you can tell is…"

"I ain't got no fakes," he objected but his quarry was already drifting away and he could tell. He watched them leave somewhat hurriedly then glowered in her direction. "What do you want?" He demanded. She smiled.

"I have a few questions is all."

"Did you have to scare off my customers?"

"Yes, because both you and I know those are fakes." His glower turned into a fierce glare.

"Ask your questions."

"First I want to see that gun you showed us last time; that deatomizer."

"I got rid of all my guns. They weren't good for business anyway."

"You're lying," she pointed out. She watched him reach behind the desk, and press the button. The displays flipped and she walked to the gun she had pointed out before. "Why is this gun so bad?" She waited for an answer, then turned when she heard none. Just in time to get her arm up as he swung something heavy and long at her.

It collided with her arm and she stumbled to the ground with the force of the blow. There was no doubt her arm was broken. He swung down again and this time it collided with her ribs. She felt and heard some of them break.

Quickly, she grabbed one of the random alien guns and shot. His head exploded. The body fell limp on the floor and she struggled to her feet. She put the gun back into place and stared in horror at the dead thing before her. Just before she decided to bolt, the body twitched and she jumped back.

On the stump of the neck was growing something that resembled a head.

"You bitch," the thing gurgled at her, "you tried to kill me."

"You tried it first," she objected. She had drawn her own gun, the one given to her by K, and held it in her left hand as her right arm was broken. "You broke my arm. And at least your head grew back. Now are you going to answer my questions or am I going to have to shoot you somewhere where I'm assuming it won't grow back?" He glared at her.

"Go ahead and shoot me. He'll kill me when he gets here anyways." She frowned darkly.

"If you tell us who he is, we can protect you." He simply gave her a look of derision. "Fine, I'm leaving now. Follow me and I'll kill you myself." She backed slowly to the door then stumbled to her car. She didn't even attempt to put the gun back in its holster but instead threw it on her seat then grabbed her cell phone. Should she call K or an ambulance? If she called the ambulance, pesky questions would be asked and she would be expected to answer them. But if she called K she would surely get an earful.

She gasped as a shot of pain stabbed through her lungs; one or more of her ribs had probably penetrated the soft tissue. It would be filling with blood now. She dialed quickly, then passed out before he could pick up the phone.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He demanded once she had regained a steady, conscious state of being. They had found her via the tracking device in her car. Currently, she was in their private hospital in the recovery ward. They had been forced to operate on her to set her ribs and drain her lung. There was an IV in her arm that was dishing out an alien healing serum they had gotten a few years back in a trade. She would be as good as new in a few days.

"I was out and I happened to pass his shop. I remembered I had some questions I wanted to ask him and stopped by. How was I supposed to know he was going to try to kill me?" She demanded. She felt a sharp pain in her chest but refused to flinch just as she refused to flinch even as K drowned her in questions with a steady glare.

"You shouldn't have gone alone. If you had questions, you should have asked me."

"Well, at least we have information now," she pointed out.

"I don't…" he was interrupted by their boss.

"Let's hear it," Zed ordered.

"Jeeves said 'he'll kill me when he gets here anyways'. Which means whoever _he_ is, he isn't here yet. Don't we monitor incoming vessels and stuff; we could pay extra attention to incoming aliens. Anyone who sends up a red flag could be him."

"Great, any specifications on what exactly we might be looking for?" K demanded.

"Someone or something that would scare a Cepholopoid; those things are supposed to be hardcore aren't they?"

"Good work, Kid," Zed admonished her then turned to walk away. K followed, whispering heatedly to his boss.

"Sir, she almost got herself killed."

"And so have you; several times."

"She went on an investigation without her partner."

"And so have you; several times."

"But I never came back in need of serious medical attention."

"I do recall a few incidents where…"

"That's not the point. We've lost Jeeves; he dug out his own tracking device and skipped out, leaving everything behind him. Whatever it is that she stumbled on, it's big and she let it get away by getting distracted."

"And you've never messed up?" Zed asked, "I think you should worry more about why you're acting so unlike yourself. The K I know never cracks a smile and never gets angry." K frowned at his boss as he watched him walk away. Then he looked back at his partner who was staring at him as if she were a puppy and he had kicked her. When he reentered the room, she looked away from him to the wall which was made of a benign colored, gray brick. He watched her for a few seconds before he broke.

"Sorry I snapped," he apologized. She remained steadfastly looking at the wall.

"You aren't going to erase my memory, are you?" She asked the wall.

"No," he assured her and took a step toward her bed, "Trust me, I've done worse than this and I'm still here."

"But the trust is gone, isn't it?" He was silent for a few seconds. Long enough she turned worriedly to look at him.

"Some of it's still there. Get healed up then we'll talk." He turned and left the room before she could say anything else. His mind was a million miles away but not quite far enough to spot the incoming danger.


	10. Chapter 10

"Where are we going again?" S asked K as he drove down the road with a glower.

"We have some registered aliens outside of Manhattan without a permit. We're tracking them down to find out why. Now do you mind telling me what's in the bag?" He both answered and asked.

"Just some stuff," she answered.

"What kind of stuff?"  
>"Stuff to help. I studied up on the list some more while I was on medical leave and I decided the things in this bag could help in any given situation."<p>

"So I don't get to know what's in the bag?" She shook her head and held the bag tighter to her lap.

They had never gotten to that talk he had promised her. Instead, he had done his best to ignore her, which, when she thought about it, was the norm anymore. It was like she was just a faithful dog or something now. He hadn't even come when she had been discharged. Well, discharged was the wrong word. It was more like when she had decided she had had enough and was leaving.

The agency had called him to pick her up but he had never answered. She had walked home instead. It had only been a few miles and the exercise had been good for her aching body. When she had gotten back to the house, his car had been in the driveway. It was just sitting there. Bitter resentment had tried to take over for a few minutes but she had just shoved it back down; if he didn't care, then neither did she.

She hadn't been scheduled to leave the hospital for another three days. After a few hours of nothing, she realized that he had assumed she would have just stayed there. So she went to the main office instead, got permission from Zed to use one of the computer terminals, and studied the list. She had lost two days to the list before she had remembered she was supposed to show up for a checkup.

Zed had been willing enough to drive her back considering they had not seen K for the whole time. She got in and the doctor had her change back into the impossibly skimpy hospital gown again. They went through the checkup process. Halfway through, K arrived. She hadn't expected that. When she had looked at the clock, she had realized that it was the time she was meant to be picked up originally.

She frowned at the floor as the doctor completed the process. He had told her to take it easy with her arm and her ribs since they were still healing. That had gotten a funny look from K but no actual words. The doctor had discharged her and she had changed again and gone, now with her partner who didn't say a thing.

The next day he had told her to 'get in the car, they had work to do'. She had grabbed the duffel and slid into the passenger seat and nary had a word been spoken until she had finally asked him where they were going.

They sat in that silence again now. The minute or so of dialogue had basically not happened for all the effect it had on their interaction. They came to the car they wanted stopped on the side of the road. They both got out, the duffel left in the car, and approached it cautiously. A man sat in the front seat looking anxious.

"Can I see your license and registration please?" K asked. The man dug nervously into his wallet and then handed them to K. "Your other license and registration please." The man dropped the sun visor in the car and grabbed the two papers that fell out. He handed them to K who glanced over at them then handed them back.

"Are you aware that you've gone out of your registered zone?"

"But, it's my wife. She's, well, look." The two of them looked in the back seat and saw the woman heavy into labor.

"I see. Would you step out and we'll have a chat while my partner takes care of your wife." S looked at him in disbelief but he was already walking off with the husband. She ran quickly back to the car and grabbed her duffel bag. Out of it she pulled two towels. She had seen the species name on the man's card and had a fair idea of what to do.

"Now, ma'am," she started, "I realize using your tentacles is a natural part of your child birthing process. However, please refrain from grabbing my right arm or squeezing too hard around my ribs. Otherwise, please feel free to grab on tight." The tentacles sprung from the woman and grabbed S around the ribcage and hips.

This was the fourth time she had gone flying through the air due to tentacles and she found it somewhat unsettling that she was getting used to it. She slammed into the roof of the car twice before she was pulled into the car with the offending female. She was shoved out the other window and twisted wildly before she was pulled back into the car. She was beginning to feel queasy when the woman threw her out with the baby in her hands.

She got up on unsteady feet and grabbed the two towels. One, she put over her shoulder and the other she wrapped the slimy squid-baby thing in. She patted it gently on what she assumed was its back until she heard the sound of regurgitation. All squid type babies threw up just after born, or at least that was the warning the list had given. She had not wanted to get it all over her so she had brought the towels as a precaution. She was glad the duffel was coming in handy.

The father ran over to her with a proud smile on his face and held his hands out for his child. S handed it over carefully, still wrapped in the protective towel, and stepped back from the new parent.

She pulled the other towel from her shoulder, refolded it so the regurgitation was on the inside, then handed it to the mother who used it to wipe the sweat from her head and neck. When the woman offered it back to her, she shook her head.

"You keep it," she responded. K had given up trying to talk to the new father who was crooning over his new child in a language that sounded like water bubbles. They both went back to the car and got in. They sat there for a few seconds then he looked at her.

"Did any of that seem strange to you?" He asked her. She started at him for a moment, unsure of whether he was being serious or not, then shrugged.

"What did you find out from the dad?"

"Nothing conclusive; he just said they were headed back to their home planet because of the baby but he looked scared."

"They all know something we don't," she pointed out.

"They usually do," he answered. He started the car and drove off, mildly wondering what else she had packed into that duffel.


	11. Chapter 11

K had struggled with himself long and hard over what he was about to do but he had decided it was for the best. He walked into Zed's office and sat down in the chair across from his superior. Zed looked up at him from his paperwork and noticed the severe look on his long-time-friend's face.

"What seems to be the problem?" Zed asked. K opened his mouth and explained why he had entered the office that day.

S stormed down the rows upon rows of desks then up the stairs into Zed's office. She slammed the paper down on his desk with an open hand and glared at him until he registered her presence. He looked up at her with bored eyes and waited for the tirade to begin.

"What the hell is this?" She demanded angrily.

"It's a transfer order." Zed explained. Her frown grew even deeper.

"I know what it is," she yelled, "I want to know why the hell you're trying to transfer me to a desk. Have I been a bad field agent?"

"No," he answered truthfully.

"Have I broken the rules?"

"Less so than most other agents," he answered.

"Did I personally offend you or something?" This time he simply shook his head and waited for the yelling to continue. "Then why the hell am I being transferred to a desk?"

Zed stared at her for a few moments. "Have a seat, kid." She unwittingly planted herself angrily in the chair K had sat in the day before. "I want you to understand, I'm doing this on request."

"Who's request?" She demanded. She had been tempted to stand again in anger and maybe slam the desk a few more times, but she doubted that would help her case any.

"I'm not at liberty to…"

"Bullshit," S objected, "We don't have agency rules, remember. You could tell me anything you wanted to and there would be nothing to stop you. Who requested the transfer?" Zed sighed. In that moment he looked exceptionally old and tired.

"Your partner; and before you go yell at him, I have another option available." S had paused midstride at the sound of his words. She turned and indicated he should continue. "Agent N just retired and H is short a partner. I could transfer you over to him instead. K would never be the wiser and you would still be out in the field." S walked back over to the chair and slumped into it.

"I would like that," she said in a broken voice. She felt betrayed. Her insides were still and cold as if they had been freeze dried. She held back the tears that tried to spill free. This was just like when she had lived in the orphanage; always moving from place to place, from family to family, from one abusive house to the other. There was one major difference here though: she had been stupid enough to get her hopes up again.

"You'll start working with him tomorrow," Zed informed her in a soothing voice, "but you can start later if you want to." S slipped her mask back into place and shook her head.

"No sir," she responded, "I want to get to work as soon as possible." She stood and shook his hand then walked out of the office with her head held high with confidence she didn't have. She had been getting better; she had actually started to care again. She wasn't going to make that mistake with her new partner.


	12. Chapter 12

The night sky blinked randomly with distant stars. The moon lounged in its usual spot. It was mostly full now. The farmhouse below was filled with the noises of a yelling husband, unsatisfied with his life and taking the frustration out on the only other person in the house: his devoted wife. She had never complained about his screaming because he never hit her. She could survive the names because he would apologize eventually.

Whenever he felt extremely bad about it, he would actually take her out to town. She had grown up in that town and become separated from it after their marriage. She missed it occasionally, but her husband was good enough to make up for it on his good days.

Currently, he was complaining about the workload. Something about how his truck was the only thing that pulled its own weight around the farm.

A large ball of fire arced through the silent sky and seemed to aim toward the farm. More specifically, toward the very truck the husband had mentioned. It rushed through the air and created a crater where the trusty old truck had been just seconds before.

The husband glanced out of the screen door and surveyed the area. "Figures," he said into the night air. He leaned over and grabbed his rifle before he exited the house to investigate the destruction of his truck. He reached the edge of the crater and looked down into the dark hole.

"What is it, Edgar," the wife asked from just past the screen door. He turned to his wife and pointed at her.

"Get your big butt back in the house," he yelled at her. She turned back and entered the house, rolling her eyes as she went. The man continued to stare down into the hole.

"Put your projectile weapon down," a voice said from inside the hole said.

"You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers," Edgar replied as he pointed the gun further into the hole.

"Your proposal is acceptable," the thing seemed to gargle. A large something came out of the hole and grabbed him then yanked him back down. From it came the sound of cries of pain then slurping noises. Edgar's skin flopped up to the edge of the hole then was dragged back down.

Five minutes later, Edgar walked into the house with a visible walking problem.

"What the hell was that Edgar," the wife asked.

"Sugar," he answered in a deep voice.

"I've never seen sugar do that before," she replied.

"Give me sugar," he ordered. She grabbed their little yellow sugar container, pulled the lid off, and held it out to him. He grunted. "In water." She grabbed his dinner glass and poured some of the sugar into it. He grunted again and she emptied the sugar into it.

He grabbed the cup and swallowed the contents loudly. His wife continued to stare at him.

"Edgar, your skin is hanging off your bones." He moved to the mirror and looked at himself. He turned to her then grabbed the back of his head and pulled. The skin stretched inhumanly from his face.

"There; is that better?" He asked. The woman fainted and hit the floor with a solid thump. The creature in her husband's skin stared at her for a moment before it turned and left the house. It went back into the hole and slowly pushed its space craft from the crater it had created during landing. Despite this minor setback, it was ahead of schedule. It had a little time to waste before it had to continue the search that had led it to this insignificant mud ball of a planet in the first place.


	13. Chapter 13

S had showed up for work the next day, gotten into H's car, and off they had gone on their first mission together. There had been complete silence besides the first two seconds when they had introduced themselves. S had put her duffel in the back seat, buckled up, and H had driven off.

They had been driving for hours and she was bored but not about to say anything about it. Instead, she had delved inside and was working on patching up the bruises her heart had sustained from the betrayal that was not a betrayal at all. She had promised not to transfer if he didn't want her to but it was obvious now that he had always wanted her to. Why else would he have gone behind her back to request the transfer?

"…there," she heard.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her reverie back to reality.

"I said 'we're almost there'. It's just a routine erase and deposit scenario. Woman claims an alien stole her husband's skin. We're going to ask her a few questions then replace the old memory with a new one."

"Sounds stimulating," S replied sarcastically.

"I know you're new so you don't know this: most missions are this simple. Rarely is there anything as odd as what you've been seeing lately."

"You mean like suicidal cephalopoids, aliens drunk on orange juice, and a squid monster using me to give birth?" She asked acerbically.

"Yeah, I mean that." He answered. S leaned her elbow on the side of the door and put her head in her hand. She stared ahead to the middle-of-nowhere place they were going and wondered what an alien wearing a person's skin as a suit looked like.

Twenty minutes later, S found out exactly what an alien looked like while clothed in human skin. They had pulled up in front of the house and stepped out. They approached the door and he knocked. They waited. Two minutes passed. They stepped inside and found the dead body of a woman. It hadn't been dead long, maybe a few hours.

While S examined the body, H stood to grab the phone from the car. She heard the screen door slam and thought nothing about it; the screen door was supposed to open. It was when she heard H's scream right before he slammed through the wall and landed right next to her that she realized something was wrong. Quickly, she drew her pistol and aimed through the hole. She didn't see any movement.

"H," she called. No response. "Damn it, H, answer me." She turned her head to catch a glimpse of him and saw his lifeless eyes staring up at her from where his body lay. She inched slowly to his body and felt for a pulse; nothing. She heard the sound of something moving inside the house and turned to see a rotting corpse approach her awkwardly.

"Put your hands on your head," she ordered automatically. Her gun was pointed straight at the thing's head. It smiled at her and laughed. Slowly, she backed away from it, hoping and praying that there was a back door to this house.

"Pathetic human," the thing gurgled, "there is no escape." It lunged at her and she shot her gun. Part of the ceiling exploded leaving a gaping hole through which she could see the sky. The thing landed on her and slammed her head into the floor. She cried out in pain and struggled with the thing on her as the world turned black.


	14. Chapter 14

K hated migration seasons. Though it was common for most alien races to migrate in great numbers from one state to the next during particular parts of the season, they had begun doing so early this year. It was hard to cover up a few thousand people suddenly up and moving with almost no warning whatsoever. He couldn't believe he had been stuck on this duty. He didn't care that he was the best; that was only because he had been doing it the longest. It was all because N had decided to retire.

K stopped at a red light and watched the traffic move around him. H was probably stuck on desk duty until he could find a new… The light turned green and K hit the accelerator hard. He made an illegal left turn and drove as fast as he could back to the main building.

He arrived there around noon and walked hurriedly into the building. He willed S to be at her desk. He would even have welcomed her berating him for her to be there. She wasn't. He tried to convince himself that she was just taking a break or something but nearly ran to Zed's office anyways.

Zed gave him a bored look. "If you're here to request your partner back, you're a little late. She and H left a few hours ago for an E.D.S."

"When are they supposed to be back?" He demanded. Zed typed something into his computer and frowned.

"One hour ago."

"What's the address?" K demanded. Zed gave him a look.

"We need to send a full recovery team," he reminded his friend.

"I'll go ahead of them; what's the address?" Zed gave it, uncertainty filling him to the brink.

"Don't do anything stupid," Zed reminded him. K nearly ran back to his car and drove like a mad man.


	15. Chapter 15

S woke in pain. Her whole body felt like had been beaten with a baseball bat and she felt heavier. She couldn't remember what had happened. Then everything came flooding back. She opened her eyes and tried to move. She couldn't. Her legs were tied together at the ankle and her arms at the wrist. She was hanging from a hook attached to the ceiling of a barn or something by a chain. Her toes touched the ground by just a hair; otherwise she was basically hanging in the air.

She glanced around, trying to locate something familiar and saw some sort of craft stuck in the corner. The rotted thing was leaning over the machine, working on it with some sort of tool she was unfamiliar with. She had to think quick so she could get out of there before the thing noticed she was awake and decided it would be better to kill her.

She grabbed the hook and pulled up as hard as she could. She rose a little more off the ground but not enough to get off the hook. She pulled her legs up to try and pull herself up the chain then cried out as pain tore through her abdomen and made her body tense. She dropped her legs and let herself hang there for a few seconds.

She held back the tears of pain as they tried to break free. She heard the thing moving towards her and put on a passive face.

"Don't move," it ordered her, "You might kill the eggs." Horror spilled down her spine then moved down her nerves until her entire body was coated with it inside and out.

"What eggs?" It laughed again.

"The eggs of my species; your body will incubate them and when they hatch, they will eat you from the inside out. Humans make good food for new hatchlings." Panic began to settle in but she closed her eyes in concentration. She pushed back the fear and pulled forth her courage.

"How are you going to stop me?" She challenged. She moved to bend her legs up again and the thing slapped her. Her legs dropped a fraction then began to rise again. The alien thing grabbed her throat and began to choke her. She tried to struggle against the cold, slimy, putrid smelling hands but failed. They closed in tighter and her legs dropped; she no longer had control over them. The thing pulled away with what she assumed was a triumphant look on its decaying face.

"Defiance will get you nowhere," it explained to her, "Your body is strong enough to withstand the process unlike the other woman's. You will give birth to my young." She spit on the thing's face, too breathless to use a snappy retort. The thing slapped her again. Its jagged nails scratched down her cheek. She felt the trickle of blood slide down to her neck. The thing turned and went back to its work then its arm exploded red and green all over her.

K parked his car away from the property so nothing would hear his approach then walked quickly up to the small farmhouse. He went inside the house and saw the destruction. The woman lay on the floor, obviously dead, as did an agent, a male agent. K approached the body and felt for a pulse; nothing. He looked around but saw nothing else even vaguely human shaped. If S wasn't here, that hopefully meant she was still alive.

He heard a female cry of pain and ran out of the house to investigate. The only place it could have come from was the barn. He approached it, gun in hand, and peaked inside in time to see whatever the thing was approach S. She was hanging from the ceiling on a hook. There was a look of panic on her face and he observed in confusion she looked slightly pregnant.

He saw her face solidify into an emotionless state and then they were talking. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying. She lifted her legs and the thing slapped her. She lifted them further and the thing began to choke her. K's first instinct was to shoot the thing but then he might shoot her. He held back and waited for the right opportunity.

The thing talked some more and she spit on it in defiance. It slapped her again, tearing her face open, then turned to walk away. He had a clear shot. He fired and watched the thing's arm explode into a million gory pieces. It screamed in pain and whirled on him. It shrieked at him in anger then dodged away from him and into a car. The thing miraculously started and the alien drove away with one arm.

K watched it for a second then ran up to S who had small tears in her eyes that she was obviously trying not to let loose. He grabbed under her thighs and pulled up until she could free her hands from the hook that had them. She then hooked her arms over his head and pulled him as close as she could manage.

"…hate you," she whispered into his shoulder. The tears had torn themselves free and were shaking her body as a result. "I hate you. I hate you." She kept repeating.

"I know," he soothed. He rubbed his hand up and down her back, ever wary for the return of the alien that had hurt her.

"I hate you," she sobbed. "This is all your fault." The words drove deep into him and caused pain. He knew it was nothing like she was suffering and found he hated himself more than he had in years. Her words faded into sobs as he gently rocked her. Then she pulled back and looked into his face. He looked so worried and fragile in that moment.

Then that moment passed. He let her onto the floor then pulled out a knife and cut her bindings off. She massaged her wrists and wiggled her feet to free up the circulation again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her uncertainly.

"You have to get me to the hospital," she said.

"Your cheek isn't that bad," he assured her.

"No, you don't understand." Desperation tried to claw its way up her throat but she held it back, "That thing, it…" Her voice broke under strain. "It laid its eggs in me. You have to get me to the hospital so they can cut them out."

K almost paused at the words that came from her mouth but years of experience and a certain amount of added desperation had him acting quickly. He scooped her up in his arms and was just short of running as he carried her out of the barn. She was definitely heavier than he remembered. This was a sure sign that she was telling the truth; that and the sudden roundness of her abdomen.

He put her gently in the passenger seat of H's car then got in and drove off as fast as he could. Just as they were pulling out of the driveway, they saw the response team truck slowing down to pull in.


	16. Chapter 16

S sat in the same room, in the same bed, in the same style of hospital gown, and, big surprise, the temperature had not changed even the slightest. She shivered under the flimsy blanket they had supplied her and waited impatiently. They had taken X-rays of her stomach when the situation had been explained then she had been deposited in her room where they had patched up her cheek then left her to wait; how she hated waiting.

The only thing that made the cold and the mechanical beeping and the complete feeling of being ignored was the fact that K was sitting in a chair next to her bed and they sat in relative silence. Occasionally K would ask her how she was feeling and she would tell him. Slowly but surely, she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin. It was like a great pressure was building within her and soon it would explode. Of course that could have been her imagination.

The doctor finally walked into the room with a grim yet determined look on his face.

"What's the verdict?" S asked anxiously; she was ready to stop feeling like a bloated fish.

"The eggs have attached themselves to your internal organs and even with our advanced medicine," the doctor paused to gain the will to finish the sentences, "you have a ten percent chance of making it through the surgery."

"So then do it." She said. The doctor looked surprise.

"There's a ninety percent chance you'll die," he reminded her.

"Look," she said, "I don't care. If I have a snowball's chance in Hell of making it through this thing, I'm going to do it." The doctor stepped forward as if to try to explain the futility yet again. She took this opportunity to grab the front of his white coat and pull him face to face with her. "When the things growing inside of me hatch, they are going to eat me from the inside out. I would rather die under the knife as you cut these things from my body than die as they slowly eat me alive. Not one of them can live; do you understand me?"

The doctor nodded and she let go of his coat. The man nearly ran out of the room. She looked at K who had yet to say anything.

"K?" She asked uncertainly. He hadn't moved since the doctor had entered the room. It didn't even look like he was breathing. She reached out her hand and put it on his shoulder. His hand landed on it and gripped it almost to the point of pain.

"It really is all my fault," he said into the air. He looked up at her and she saw the look of utter defeat splashed across his face as if thrown there by a careless artist.

"I didn't mean that," she assured him, "I was just really emotional. K, it isn't your fault."

"If I hadn't requested the transfer, you would have been helping me with the migration, not in the middle of nowhere being infested with eggs."

"At least we know who 'he' is now." She mused reassuringly. "Obviously he's some sort of bug. And he left behind his spaceship so that's got to be a plus." She had removed her hand from his tight grip and was now running her fingers through his hair.

"But we don't know where he went or why he's on earth."

"But we will soon enough."

"You don't know that." She flicked him in the ear.

"Stop being so pessimistic." She ordered him in a severe tone. He frowned up at her but it was worn quickly away by her smile.

"You should be yelling at me," he reminded her. Her smiled faltered but then she shoved it back into place.

"Why can't you just let me enjoy what little time I have left?" She asked, "Why do you have to ruin my happiness with reality?" She watched him flounder with words before she continued on. "You think I don't know you need a good, solid berating? You think I just forgot because I have eggs clinging to my organs? Well I didn't. I still plan on letting you have it after I recover from my surgery. For now, though, I'm going to pretend there's nothing to cry about and that everything is peachy. Think you can handle that?"

He nodded his head. "Good," she added, "Because you've officially ruined my good mood." Tears were hanging from her eyelashes as she tried to stem the flow yet again. K reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek as it slid its way down her face.

"I'm sorry."

"Damn right," she replied. They both smiled weakly and fell into a comfortable silence. They watched each other in that almost perfect moment.

AN: Well, here's what I've got so far. If anyone is interested in more, you'll have to review for it. Mwahahahaha…*coughingfit* I shouldn't refrain from doing that.


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